Review: 76972 Raptor Off-Road Escape
Posted by CapnRex101,
Waves of sets produced for each Jurassic World movie often include a medium-size truck, which tend to serve as a nice introduction to the range. 76972 Raptor Off-Road Escape is an impressive example, featuring two new dinosaurs and two unique minifigures!
As usual, the dinosaurs are the primary draw and I am happy to see the updated Velociraptor available in a relatively affordable set, plus Dolores the baby Aquilops. In addition, the vehicle seems reasonably detailed, so there is much to enjoy for £29.99, $39.99 or €34.99.
Summary
76972 Raptor Off-Road Escape, 285 pieces.
£29.99 / $39.99 / €34.99 | 10.5p/14.0c/12.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
76972 Raptor Off-Road Escape is an appealing set, particularly for the new dinosaurs
- New dinosaurs are fantastic
- Exclusive minifigures
- Detailed off-roader
- Fun dinosaur-ambush function
- Environment model could use more foliage
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Jurassic World Rebirth introduces many new characters and among them is Reuben Delgado, a man shipwrecked with his family. Reuben's red shirt and blue shorts remind me of the classic attire worn by Bart Simpson, although this ensemble matches his appearance in the trailers and actually stands out within the range because so many characters wear military fatigues.
Isabella Delgado is appealing for the same reason. Reuben's younger daughter wears a pink shirt with a distinctive pelican motif and her backpack is pink too, in stark contrast with most of the Jurassic World Rebirth minifigures! The hair pieces selected for both characters work nicely and new medium nougat heads are always welcome, with alternative expressions.
Based on the packaging, it seems Isabella is able to make friends with a young Aquilops, likely helped by her accessories, a chicken leg and a printed sweet. Reuben, meanwhile, comes with with a walkie talkie and a reddish orange flare gun, which is a new colour for the revolver.
Aquilops is one of the new dinosaurs featured in Jurassic World Rebirth and its single sample was discovered in 1997, after the release of Jurassic Park. Baby Dolores is nicely sculpted to include the animal's eagle-like beak, for which it is named after the Latin word for an eagle. The whole head shape appears fairly accurate to Dolores' depiction in the movie.
The printed patterns on the head, legs and tail look excellent as well. Maybe the figure should have included a stud on its back to match other infant dinosaurs, but that is my only issue with the Aquilops and a stud is not essential.
The Completed Model
We know from previous Jurassic Park films that Velociraptors love to ambush their prey, often leaping from nearby undergrowth. A structure to recreate this method of attack is included and looks reasonable, featuring natural colours and some dense foliage across the front. I wish this foliage continued around the sides though, concealing the Velociraptor from more angles.
The platform where the raptor is standing slides back and forth and is connected to the leaves on the front, so they move aside as the dinosaur comes forward. The mechanism is very basic, but works smoothly. I can imagine a more complex version completely hiding the raptor, but this design suffices for a medium-sized set.
Velociraptors have appeared in numerous Jurassic World sets, portrayed at various ages. The new figure is much smaller than the previous mature LEGO Velociraptor, but is still intended to be an adult, more closely reflecting their scale in the Jurassic Park films. The loss of articulated arms and legs is unfortunate, although the smaller size opens up new opportunities.
For instance, you could now more easily add the Velociraptor to an indoor setting, such as the kitchen scene from Jurassic Park. Additionally, the jaw still moves and the sculpted pose looks reasonably dynamic. The colour scheme is appealing too, although the same raptor appears in 76973 Raptor & Titanosaurus Tracking Mission, so more variety would have been appreciated, unless there is only one Velociraptor onscreen.
Off-road trucks are nearly as common in Jurassic World sets as Velociraptors, which has given the designers ample opportunity to refine them. This example looks fantastic, with rugged tyres and a Humvee-like boxy shape, which differs from the standard Jeeps found in many sets. I like the colour scheme too, particularly how the black and red areas are arranged in bands.
The bonnet is constructed with layers of slopes and a couple of strengthening bars, so it looks very bulky. The 2x2 curved slope in the middle is printed, although a few stickers are used and the numbered tile on the bumper is one. Many of the vehicles in the Jurassic World Rebirth sets display similar numbers, although vehicles labelled one, six and seven are currently missing.
I love the angular bodywork around the cab and the tan ingots providing some texture on both sides, matching another InGen vehicle in 76973 Raptor & Titanosaurus Tracking Mission. Also, the mirrors mounted beside the windscreen are a realistic addition, as are the lights on the roof rack behind the cab.
There is room for two minifigures seated inside, with a steering wheel and stickered dashboard for the driver. The seats do seem quite exposed and accordingly vulnerable to dinosaur attacks, but I assume that is accurate to the film. Clips are available to attach accessories on either side, including a tranquilliser gun and a syringe.
Stickers highlight the bands of colour on the truck bed, featuring tan, black and red sections to match the surrounding bricks. I wondered why the stickers were necessary before building this set, but 1x4 bricks are essential for strength, so using 1x1 and 1x2 bricks along the sides would not be practical.
LEGO designers have mastered the construction of roll bars on vehicles like this one recently, adding plenty of detail to heavy duty trucks. 2L bars with stoppers are perfectly integrated with the roof rack here. A scanning device with a Velociraptor on its screen is stored in the back and you could attach a trailer to the ball cup underneath for additional storage, if needed.
Overall
I tend to enjoy Jurassic World sets around this size, as they normally contain new dinosaurs, without being too expensive. 76972 Raptor Off-Road Escape certainly shares those qualities and its two dinosaurs are splendid, as expected. Moreover, the truck and the foliage structure are quite detailed and provide considerable play value with the dinosaurs.
Two exclusive minifigures are also a bonus, even though minifigures are not really the focus of Jurassic World sets. Even the price of £29.99, $39.99 or €34.99 feels reasonable, especially in Europe. I would therefore recommend this set, although I understand being drawn to the bigger sets from the wave instead, which arguably contain the more exciting dinosaurs!
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26 comments on this article
>New dinosaurs are fantastic
>no printed claws or teeth
As a dinosaur enthusiast (but not especially a JW fan), I'm excited to be able to get that adorable little Aquilops for a relatively modest price, in a set with a good number of elements that can be reused elsewhere.
$40 for this is ridiculous. Wait for a discount, people.
"Clever girl." I can't be the only one who's thinking that after seeing that side build.
Set looks pretty good. Way overpriced, though (typical for this IP).
Not a fan of the new two-piece Velociraptor. I would've much preferred a posable Raptor to a better-scaled Raptor. And don't even get me started on the lack of printed claws. Ah well, I have plenty of the old Raptors anyway. The baby Aquilops is adorable, though!
Also, why didn't the JP 30th Anniversary minifigs from 2 years ago have side leg printing like this Reuben guy has? It would've really added to the Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon minifigs, imo.
Honestly, I'm conflicted about the new mold for the raptor. This new mold won't really fit with the other old molds I've collected, but it is better sized. Lack of articulation is really a bummer though. I don't know what to think about this one. Maybe it will just take some getting used to. The aquilops is great though.
The foliage is basically an upgrade to previous Jurassic vignette sets with a similar mechanism, 122406 and 121903.
That guy really wears teal high tops with long, teal socks pulled all the way up?
Lego minfig design stinks again. Why are they so good with their own IPs, and so poor with the others (SW, Marvel, JP, and to a lesser extent, HP)?
High prices should equate to good design.
I won't even bother about the dino because Cap'n and others already did. Lego = Cheepo at a high price-o.
I love that we get new scaled dinos. I am ok with no articulation even.
But lack of paint when dinos from 2006 HAD THEM is just FRICKING CHEAP
@Euffalo956 said:
"Honestly, I'm conflicted about the new mold for the raptor. This new mold won't really fit with the other old molds I've collected, but it is better sized. Lack of articulation is really a bummer though. I don't know what to think about this one. Maybe it will just take some getting used to. The aquilops is great though."
You cna use it as younger raptor next to the huge one.
@lordofdragonss said:
" @Euffalo956 said:
"Honestly, I'm conflicted about the new mold for the raptor. This new mold won't really fit with the other old molds I've collected, but it is better sized. Lack of articulation is really a bummer though. I don't know what to think about this one. Maybe it will just take some getting used to. The aquilops is great though."
You cna use it as younger raptor next to the huge one."
Fair enough. Now I can have a whole family of raptors in my collection!
Really good set design, but really overpriced. That hummer looks great and is an appropriate size to balance play, detail, and scale.
Overpriced. I do like the offroader though.
I am usually not one to sing the "LEGO used to be better in [enter your formative years]"-song, but - having just rebuilt a certain pirate ship from 1989 - I can't help but notice:
How was it possible, that LEGO could release a 3 cm long monkey with eight articulation points back then - and now it's not possible to have posable arms and legs on a big friggin' Dino?
Quite a nice set. I'm looking forward to seeing Rebirth.
@TheRichrocker said:
"I am usually not one to sing the "LEGO used to be better in [enter your formative years]"-song, but - having just rebuilt a certain pirate ship from 1989 - I can't help but notice:
How was it possible, that LEGO could release a 3 cm long monkey with eight articulation points back then - and now it's not possible to have posable arms and legs on a big friggin' Dino?"
Because if you havent noticed since 2010 Lego is cutting corners whenever it can:
>Reusing molds in NInjago over and over
>Making same figures in SW over and over with just new prints
>New themes barrely have new unique pieces
>STickers instead of prints even on TILES or repeated designs
So it begins, I will use my VIP point to get a massive set that is for sure.
If I learned anything from old episodes of Star Trek, it's that this guy is sca-rewed. The girl's probably safe, though.
@TheRichrocker said:
"I am usually not one to sing the "LEGO used to be better in [enter your formative years]"-song, but - having just rebuilt a certain pirate ship from 1989 - I can't help but notice:
How was it possible, that LEGO could release a 3 cm long monkey with eight articulation points back then - and now it's not possible to have posable arms and legs on a big friggin' Dino?"
Because only the monkey body was new, while the arms and hands were borrowed from standard minifigs. And they only had to produce _one_ monkey that could be used repeatedly across many sets. The bigger question is how they managed to mold the arm sockets in what appears to be a solid, single-piece element.
I'm more excited about the minifigs than the dinosaurs. Ever since Lego took the cheap route and reduced the quality of the dinos (i.e., no painted claws / teeth, less articulation) I've become less and less interested on this theme. I'm glad I was able to buy most of the dinos I wanted in previous years when the quality was better. I hope they correct this situation and go back to the quality of dinos they used to offer not long ago.
I'm learning a lot more about this new movie from the sets and notes in the reviews.
This is gonna be a neat wave of fun sets, included with a cataclysmic aneurysm of an audio-visual product.
Love the new smaller raptor; don't love the cut corners of claw and teeth printing.
I'll grab this for sure once it hits like 20-23€
Of course it's going to be absurdly overpriced. Once again, we play the waiting game for stores to start clearancing them out at much better prices.
Not a big fan of the new velociraptor, it doesn't need to be as complex as the old velociraptor... but it could've at least had a turning head and some horse-like leg articulation. I like the smaller size (JP velociraptors tend to be oversized) but it'd bug me if I were a kid (like Dino Attack 2005).
@lordofdragonss said:
"
Because if you havent noticed since 2010 Lego is cutting corners whenever it can:
>Reusing molds in NInjago over and over
>Making same figures in SW over and over with just new prints
>New themes barrely have new unique pieces
>STickers instead of prints even on TILES or repeated designs"
Not to sound like an apologist, but these points aren't very strong... and some are outright wrong.
>Mold reuse is to be expected (Space, Castle, etc ALL did this), but there's still many MANY elements that last one year (especially with weapons or antagonists). Are those bone weapons still being used? Are the Wolfmasks in this new wave? No.
>Certain characters sell better and license-holders have firmer grips on merchandise than they did in the past. I sincerely doubt Sy Snootles is gonna make a mainline appearance since kids have no interest in her.
>Like point 1, this is just wrong. Look at Dreamzzz, last year introduced multiple new molds (some in only 1 or 2 sets) that won't appear unless there's a villain reunion arc; those ravens, Sneak's body, and that cauldron piece are likely already retired. The cyberbrains and pixel effects from the current season most certainly are going to follow this trend. Even Monkie Kid has this, they're never reusing the elements from the 2023 sea temple set.
>This has been an issue a LOT longer than 2010 lmao. Designs were often printed in the past based on whether or not they could be reused or had to be held (the first years of Star Wars and Belville seem to be some of the only exceptions). Ironically StAMPs were common until the 2010s.
Yes the amount of stickers can be annoying nowadays and the rules are inconsistent, but in the past a lot of those stickers would just be plain bricks.
A fun 'non-militarised' dino set, though I'm not seeing £30 of play value (as clever as the side-build is, it's destined for a parts bin), the dino parts always push the price up, but maybe £22-25.
I am also an advocate for studs on all small animals, and desirably - saddle spaces on all large animals! Think of the play value in being able to put a saddle on all the different dinos (bizzarely only the small triceratops-things seem to have one from memory?).
Love the size of the new raptor but I wish it had some kind of articulation, especially in the head. Dolores is a fantastic new mold!
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